G. Gerapetritis: What was heard in the Lebanon-Douka dialogue is not in line with the principles of the faction

The Minister of State, George Gerapetritis, gave detailed answers to the government’s reaction to the Lebanon-Duke issue, speaking to “Antenna”, as well as to the issues of the electoral law and accuracy.

In particular, “Mr. Libanos, Minister of Rural Development and Food, did not respond with quick reflexes to what was heard, which were obviously unacceptable and offensive, inconsistent with the principles and values ​​of the party and do not respond to the effort of the then government. For reasons of principle, the prime minister, who also has the absolute constitutional competence, decided to accept his resignation “.

In fact, the Minister of State said that there are two dimensions: On the one hand, the moral dimension, where “it is not possible when you have the dead, even the destruction of property, to manage the situation in this way.” On the other hand, the real dimension, “which concerns the immediate, rapid, empowerment of people for their immediate costs”.

In another issue, that of the scenarios of change of the electoral system, after the Prime Minister and the Minister of State assured that “there is no intention to change the electoral law. The electoral law came to amend the previous law of simple proportional representation, which is certain that it would not ensure the stability of the government and would put the country in big problems, in serious danger “. “Ultimately, it is an electoral law that strikes a good balance between the need for government stability and good representation. The government is not going to play political games, we will continue with this electoral law, we will go with it.”

Asked if his change would send a message of defeat to the ruling party, G. Gerapetritis replied that “this may have been a show of defeat, but the most important of all is the institutional dimension: it must “We are moving towards a stable system, to know the rules of the political game. These rules were set by the Greek government from the beginning, it was in its election program. Political opportunism should not prevail over institutional issues,” he said.

On the issue of accuracy, and in particular on the energy side, he referred to the “global phenomenon”, as “the energy crisis – which is also linked to geopolitical issues – has triggered a wave of price increases. The announcements made for the OECD developed countries show that the consumer price index has the largest increase in the last 30 years, (is) at 7%, in Germany 7%, in the US 7%. ” (…) No country has been able to fully meet the existing price increases. “It would put the global economy and national economies at great risk.”

At the same time, he reminded that “Greece has strengthened consumers, households primarily, and since January and businesses, for the last 5 months with 1.75 billion”, which is “proportionally the largest aid in the European Union”, a aid which continues in February. For each passing month, he continued, “the aid for energy costs is about 400 million euros from the Greek government. I understand that it is not enough, there is no replacement of accuracy, as there is no replacement of all reflex effects on basic products “But it is what we can do under the circumstances, what we have achieved with a lot of effort, pain, consistency, that is, the fiscal consistency not to risk it.”

“Today, markets are reacting to any benefits directly, interest rates are rising. For us, the priority is to support vulnerable households – and we will continue to do so. On the other hand, this should not lead to a serious risk.” of our budget “.

At the same time, G. Gerapetritis referred to the “too big effort” to reduce the tax and insurance burdens: “already, most taxes have been reduced, resulting in an increase in real disposable income, estimated at around 7% “, he mentioned and cited as an example the average reduction of ENFIA by 13% from January 1, the reduction of corporate and personal income tax, the reduction of insurance contributions by three points.

Recognizing that “it is not always easy to intervene in the formation of inflationary trends”, he also referred to the 2nd increase in the minimum wage: “it will be a very satisfactory increase within the same year so that at least lower incomes can somehow respond “. On the other hand, “there are cases where it is impossible to make up for the increases, they can not be made up magically”, but “anyone who claims that it is an easy exercise to reduce a tax and thus reduce the accuracy, it is very simplistic “This approach,” he said.

And, yes, “a tax cut should contribute to higher demand, so that there is a replacement for lost budgets”, however, he clarified, “this is an exercise that is not easy. “Reducing corporate tax has created a very significant wave of investment, which in turn creates new and well-paid jobs. We are creating a greater demand in the market, which is actually increasing and “But we have to be very careful, we have not to jeopardize the fiscal balance,” he said. stand up, increase real disposable income, increase household deposits, € 43 billion increase in deposits “.

However, he referred to other measures taken by the government: “At the moment we have expanded the perimeter of those who are entitled to the social tariff of PPC, there has been an increase in the heating allowance that has more than doubled”, in a nutshell “compared to other countries “much more has been done in Greece, and I say this with concrete data,” he said, noting that no country has achieved full replacement. ” that is possible “.

Responding to requests for further tax cuts, he reminded that there has been a targeted reduction in VAT on livestock (feed and fertilizers), moreover “such horizontal reductions are not possible at the moment, but there will be targeted aid for those who need it” , he assured. To the request either for reduction of VAT on basic products, or for reduction of excise tax or VAT on fuels, G. Gerapetritis replied as follows: “The phenomenon is dynamic, at this stage it is not directly targeted, they will be evaluated up-to-date data to strengthen the consumer “.

In the case of Fourthiotis, finally, the minister was categorical: “I have never met this gentleman in my life, I do not know him by any means and therefore I have no relationship or intimacy. On the contrary, when he made derogatory statements, I I filed a lawsuit “. He went on to recall the actions of state bodies, such as the SEPE, the Transparency Authority and the Prosecutor’s Office. Therefore, he concluded, “not only has there been no transaction, alluded to by the official opposition, but on the contrary all requests have been answered in the negative.” On the other hand, “the official opposition for reasons of political opportunism is politically embracing this particular gentleman.”

“Furthermore,” there was no discussion while he was in court, when the issues arose any communication was cut off and the information was forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office. ” On the issue of the guarding of M. Fourthiotis by the police, the Minister of State explained that any such request is not evaluated by the government but by a special committee of vulnerable targets, the police.

And, closing with the purely political part, G. Gerapetritis spoke about “very fast reflexes” which “led to the current phenomenon, Mr. Fourthiotis turning against the government, against me and other ministers, precisely because they were not satisfied “His demands. Conversely, there has been a political adoption by the opposition,” he concluded.

Source: AMPE